If you’re Alan Mulally’s gardener, it’s probably a good time to ask the boss for a raise. The Chief Executive Officer earlier in the month, and now his 2011 compensation has been made public – and it’s increased some 11 percent.
Mulally received $29.5 million in 2011, according to The Detroit News, more than twice the next-highest-paid Ford officer cited in the report, Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr., whose total compensation was $14.46 million. While Mulally’s salary amounts to a paltry $2 million, he was paid a $5.46 million bonus, with the rest coming in “stock and option awards as well as personal expenses, which can entail personal use of private aircraft, cell phone use, security, and fuel and car washes,” according to the report.
The News says Ford surpassed its profit targets in 2011, but missed other internal benchmarks.
Doing some quick math, Ford sold 5.7 million vehicles globally in 2011, meaning that Mulally pocketed $5.17 for each one.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the brand – something that first appeared at the 1912 with models like a five-ton dumptruck. It will be the smaller passenger vehicles that do the celebrating, though, with Heritage editions of the , Yukon XL and 1500 Crew Cab being unveiled next week.
The special edition tweaks are purely cosmetic, with exterior hues on offer such as Heritage Blue (pictured), White Diamond and Onyx Black paired with interiors in Ebony or Light Tan. Embroidered floor mats and headrests will let everyone know your truck or SUV is extra special, along with items like chrome door handles, larger wheels, a power liftgate and original GMC logo script depending on which model you choose.
Adding the Heritage packages adds anywhere from $1,820 to $2,645 to the price, and that’s before you’ve paid for the premium paints. for more info on the models, and we’ll have more on them live from the New York show floor.
Arguably more than any other mainstream automaker, is serious about its heritage. So much so that it – former chief executive of , and – to head up its classics program. In this capacity, Paefgen oversees the heritage departments of each of the group’s brands, but while its commercial vehicles operation may seem the least likely to preserve its past, today’s announcement proves that assumption wrong.
The Oldtimers department of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles just recently moved into a new 7,000 square-meter facility in Hannover, Germany, where its staff of 13 dedicates itself to the restoration and preservation of old VW Buses. Although the garage has been active for several years, working on the company’s own vehicles, the Oldtimer department has now opened its doors for private owners to bring in their vehicles for any degree of service.
Have an old Bus in need of some TLC? Click for the press release for further details and check out the gallery of high-resolution images for a closer look inside the workshop.
Congratulations are in order for after its new earned top scores in the crash tests. This now means that every new Buick model is on the Institute’s Top Safety Pick list.
The Verano’s safety credentials weren’t really in question though, since the Chevy with which it shares a platform also made the Top Safety Pick list.
“When we started the vehicle development of Buick Verano, we had a comprehensive safety strategy that enabled us to achieve the highest safety rating and to be among the best safety performers in the segment,” said Sigit Santosa, General Motors’ Engineering Group Manager of Vehicle Safety Performance Integration.
to read GM’s official press releas on the Verano’s ratings. There’s a video of the new Buick compact being smashed up, as well.
When a McLaren hits the race track, the competition had better watch out. The British outfit is, after all, one of the most successful in Formula One, having won 176 grands prix, a dozen drivers’ championships and eight constructors’ titles. But McLaren’s prowess extends beyond F1. The Woking firm was a force to be reckoned with in Can-Am in the late 60s, and the last time it built an endurance racing sportscar – the famed F1 GTR back in 1995 – it trounced even the advanced prototype racers to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Now, McLaren is back in the sportscar racing game with the new MP4-12C GT3. Based on the MP4-12C road car, the GT3 racing version took only a year to develop, and McLaren GT has delivered 25 examples of its racing car to independent racing teams around the world. Included in the purchase price are test sessions organized by McLaren and access to the team’s advanced driving simulator and deep expertise in all things motorsport.
The cars are set to compete in the Blancpain Endurance Series (where the MP4-12C also serves as safety car), the VLN series at the Nürburgring, German’y ADAC GT Masters, the International GT Open and the FIA GT1 World Championship. The first of these are set to take place in Germany this weekend at the Nordschleife and Oschersleben, where the MP4-12C will be making its parallel race debuts. Can’t wait that long? We’ve got two high-quality video clips of the car undergoing testing for your viewing pleasure (together with the full press release) and a fresh crop of high-resolution images added to the gallery above.
What started as only a cute little hatchback, the will now be growing into a full range of models. The new and versions have already launched here in the United States, and we just got our first glimpse at the larger (pictured above) during the . But now, Automotive News reports that an even larger 500 crossover, dubbed 500X, will be heading into production next year.
Like the 500L, the 500X will use a widened version of Fiat’s small car architecture that currently underpins the in other markets. The new crossover will be built at the company’s Mirafiori, Turin plant, and will replace the current Sedici (a rebadged version of the crossover).
As of this writing, it’s unclear whether or not the 500X will be offered in the United States. But that doesn’t mean we’ll miss out on some small CUV goodness. Automotive News also reports that the 500X will be built alongside a new crossover, currently codenamed B-CUV, which is set to launch in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2014. It will be smaller than both the current and , and reportedly be offered with a Trail Rated designation here in the States.
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By now you’ve probably heard about “Batman” getting pulled over by the cops in his . The story has been all over the Internet this week, thanks to the in-car video from the local Maryland police department that stopped the caped crusader. But now we’ve got the real scoop on this would-be Bruce Wayne, thanks to the Washington Post.
His name is Lenny B. Robinson, and being Batman is only a part-time gig for the wealthy philanthropist. Robinson visits sick children in hospitals around the Baltimore area, decked out in a $5,000 neoprene-and-leather Batman suit, according to the report. He hands out Batman toys, signs autographs and gives the kids some much-needed fun, while boosting the morale of the parents, as well.
The is just part of the fun, though Robinson told the Post that he’s having a “real” Batmobile built. (Which of the various movie cars he’s having replicated was not specified.) While this episode marked Robinson’s first time in a national spotlight, it wasn’t his first encounter with the police while in costume. Patch reported on a back in November 2011, when Robinson’s Gallardo had a flat.
Today’s automobiles are more connected than ever, and the National Transportation Safety Board doesn’t seem to approve. The Detroit News reports that NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman is standing behind a recommendation to from making hands-free phone calls that aren’t of the emergency variety.
Hersman is battling automakers head-on when it comes to distracting technologies, and there are plenty of those technologies in today’s vehicles. That includes hands-free calling made via Bluetooth, which has long been viewed as a safer alternative to grabbing a phone and calling someone the old-fashioned way. The proposed ban on hands-free calling reportedly doesn’t include OnStar, which integrates calling directly through the vehicle. Hersman reportedly went as far as to suggest that automakers make their number one priority “safety, not sales.”
While we think distracted driving is worth fighting, it’s difficult to see where banning hands-free calling is the answer. And we’re not alone. Even National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator Ray LaHood feels the NTSB recommendation . If automakers are forced to remove the tech from new vehicles, we’re thinking many drivers will simply revert back to hand-held calling.
The NTSB thinks that hand-held and hands-free are equally dangerous, but it’s difficult to argue that case, especially if integrated technology like OnStar is permitted. Once a phone is paired, what’s the difference between pressing the hands-free button and pressing the OnStar button? We’d argue that having kids in the back seat is far more distracting than hands-free calling, and we don’t see the NTSB calling for a ‘no kids in the car’ policy any time soon.
We’ve been showing you sporting a very large retractable roof for months now, and today, the automaker has pulled back the curtain on this very unique feature.
While giant sunroofs are nothing new, the retractable panoramic roof that will be available for the covers 15.2 square feet, which says makes it one of the largest retractable glass roof panels in a production sedan. We can’t think of any larger than that, though manufacturers usually don’t supply the square footage of their sunroofs. Bonus points, then, for whoever can name a larger one in the comments.
Lincoln says it takes two motors just ten seconds to either open or close the roof, which rides along parallel rails located on the outer edges of the roof and along each side of the rear window. When fully retracted, Lincoln says the opening is about two-feet deep and two and a half feet wide.
That’s all we know until the production 2013 Lincoln MKZ debuts next week at the , but we’re fairly certain this special roof will be optional equipment and likely pricey. We’d also be surprised if the automaker’s marketing team didn’t give it a more catchy name like “PanoScreen” or “MyLincoln See.”
to see video of the MKZ’s retractable panoramic roof in action.
is recalling 554,000 crossovers to repair the low-beam headlights. The models affected are the 2002-2004 Honda (pictured above) and 2003 . A possible fault with in the headlight switch wiring could cause the low beams not to work.
We don’t need to tell you why that’s hazardous.
Honda will notify owners beginning in late April, at which time they can take their vehicles to dealers for repairs free of charge. The company has where owners can check if their vehicle is part of the recall, and customers can reach out to Honda directly by calling 1-800-999-1009 (select option 4), as well. for a press release with more details.
The strength of the Yen is forcing many Japanese automakers to consider building cars for export markets outside their home country. is no different, and has confirmed that it will build the hatchback at its starting in the spring of 2014.
The plant in Mexico is not the only location where Honda will build the Fit, but it will be used to supply the small hatchback to the large United States, Mexican and Canadian markets. Honda expects to build up to 200,000 subcompact vehicles per year at its plant near Celaya, Guanajuato.
Honda already builds a huge number of vehicles in North America. In fact, as pointed out in the press release , more than 85 percent of the Honda and models sold in America were built in the United States, Canada or Mexico. What’s more, the addition of the Fit to the , , and means that all four of Honda’s global nameplates will be produced in North America.
Do you consider yourself a driving enthusiast? If so, does the thought of handing control of your car over to a series of computers scare you to death? We understand. But perhaps it’s time to remember that those of us who love to drive aren’t the only ones who want to use the road.
As you’ll see in the video after the break, hold out hope for some men and women who are simply unable to drive themselves. Take, for instance, Steve Mahan, who lost 95 percent of his vision over the course of several years, leaving him clinically blind. Obviously, Mahan isn’t able to drive.
What Mahan can do, however, is sit behind the wheel of an autonomous car, in this case, a converted to operate sans driver by . And when he does, he directs the car to take him to Taco Bell before picking up his dry cleaning.
Questionable food choice aside, we hope that one day in the not-too-distant future people like Steve Mahan will be able to regain the kind of mobility made possible by the automobile that most of us take for granted. Just so long as we can share the road in our old-fashioned drive-it-yourself cars, too. See the video .
For The Enthusiast Who Isn’t Ready To Embrace The Future
The 328i is better than the 335i.
We are not the only ones claiming that the entry-level , fitted with a clamorous lightweight turbocharged four-cylinder engine, is more agile and tossable than its turbocharged six-cylinder sibling – it appears to many that the segment leader has been displaced by its weaker brother.
Well, maybe.
That big ‘maybe,’ and a whole bunch of its little ‘maybe’ associates, are what convinced us to grab the keys to a brand-new six-cylinder and take it home for a week. Our objective was to determine why the muscular 335i, long the performance benchmark of compact sport sedans, was getting its tailpipes handed to it by its four-banger kin.
To solve the riddle, we put more than 1,500 miles on a brand-new 335i Sport configured with a six-speed manual transmission. Of course, we liked much of what we experienced, as the redesign fits the 3 Series very well. But we also exposed a few holes in its once-impenetrable armor – some big enough to let two fewer cylinders slip by. Has the quickest and highest-performing of the non-M 3 Series models really lost its top spot on the palace throne? If so, why would someone still want a 335i?
Chrysler today is launching a continuation of its for the , , and .
The new ads do not feature Clint Eastwood, as the February Super Bowl ad did.
The Ram ad, titled “Tommy and The Ram,” is a vignette that depicts a wife’s admiration for her husband’s hard work and determination to provide for his family in any economic environment. There is a great line in this ad as he drives his Ram to a job site: “Where there’s a truck, there’s a job.” The idea here is that as long as he has a reliable truck, he always has a chance to earn.
The ad for the Chrysler 300 is told through a father talking about his pride in his son making his own way in life, while the Wrangler spot is told through the story of a young daughter adapting to a new life and new city with her family.
The ads will be breaking during the NCAA Men’s basketball semi-finals, NHL games, NASCAR, Mad Men and the American Country Music Awards.
We will now know the “” – the small four-door “coupe” built on the MFA platform supporting the (pictured above) and – as the CLA. It will debut at April’s , and it’s just one of the five variants that has planned for its MFA underpinnings.
When it hits the streets in 2013, advance reports indicate that both front- and all-wheel-drive versions will be available. Power will come from a range of gas and diesel engines with anywhere from 110 to 150 horsepower (there’s even a potential AMG model with more than 300 hp on the way), mated to seven-speed dual-clutch and six-speed manual transmissions.
Of note, though, over its long gestation, the CLA has been referred to as the CLC, but the CLA and CLC are different cars. The CLC is the Concept Style Coupe, said to be , which was a two-door hatchback, yet also of the , which was a sedan. The CLA will make its debut in China, but the CLC will be at an Mercedes-sponsored art festival called “Transmission LA: AV Club.” The Beijing show and the art festival overlap, so we’ll find out which car is which and what they both look like soon enough.
Azure Dynamics, which develops electric-drive powertrains for automakers such as , said this week that it will file for financial protection from its creditors under Canadian law and will cancel its plans to sell shares in what may be a precursor to a bankruptcy filing.
Azure is the company that adds the all-electric powertrain to Ford’s practical little Transit Connect Electric. For now, no new TCEs will be made. Azure’s Mike Elwood that production of the Transit Connect Electric has stopped as a result of the restructuring and that, “While we go through our restructuring there will be no TCE activity until we present an approved plan.” We’re told that warranty issues for those who have already purchased a Transit Connect Electric will be a part of this plan.
Ford’s Wes Sherwood told AutoblogGreen that Azure’s filing does not affect Ford’s overall EV and green-vehicle strategy. “Our priority is to ensure that Azure’s Transit Connect Electric customers continue to have support throughout their ownership experience,” he said. “Our Ford electric vehicle product plans remain on track, as part of our commitment to provide customers the power of choice for fuel economy solutions across our lineup – from EcoBoost-powered vehicles and hybrids to plug-in hybrids and full electrics.”
Azure Dynamics joins a list of companies that were looking to capitalize on an increase in demand for battery-electric and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles but have had problems staying afloat. Extended-range plug-in utility vehicle maker last month amid its claims that the federal government took too long to process the $400 million in loans promised to the company, while , which makes the extended-range plug-in Karma, has faced questions about its own future and most of the federal government loans earmarked for the company .
Instead of letting everyone else and of the , SRT has gone insider trading and released its own teaser shot of the upcoming snake’s interior. What we can see of the overall layout appears familiar from the second-generation car, but the materials look to have been significantly upgraded: ornately bezeled vents, soft-touch trim, cross-stitching and aggressive two-tone accents.
There’s been some bother about the evolutionary exterior design of the 2013 Viper, but for a car that had just two generations in 20 years, it can still stand up to anything from Italy for badass presence. What it really needed was an interior and chassis that could deliver on its looks, and it appears the new 2013 model will be getting just that.
We’ll continue to wait on its official appearance at the next week to judge, but based on this shot, we like the look of where things are headed. Click on the photo above for a and stay tuned for the full debut live from New York next week.
Italy’s Superstars Series may have seemed like an insignificant championship in the past, but drivers and manufacturers alike are beginning to take notice of what is rapidly emerging as Italy’s equivalent of Germany’s DTM, Japan’s Super GT or Australia’s V8 Supercars series. One of those drivers is Tonio Liuzzi, and one of those manufacturers is .
The German automaker had been represented in the series before, but is now launching an officially factory-sanctioned works effort with a specially-prepared touring car fielded by Caal Racing. And it has lined up an experienced driving talent to man the wheel.
A veteran of 80 grands prix, Vitantonio Liuzzi has driven for Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Force India and HRT, but unfortunately failed to distinguish himself with a single podium finish, pole position or fastest lap in the span of his six years in Formula One. Prior to ascending to the pinnacle of motorsports, he had won the International Formula 3000 championship, and has also tried his hand at A1GP (representing Italy) as well as the Speedcar Series (a stock car series held briefly in the Middle East).
Will he prove himself a greater talent in touring cars than he did in F1? We’ll have to wait and see, but given the factory support in a privateer-dominated series and the number of championships Caal Racing has won, things are looking up for Liuzzi and Mercedes. for the official announcement (in Italian) and check out the batch of official high-resolution images in the gallery above.
Back in 1967, shocked the world by winning the Monte Carlo Rally. The man behind the wheel was one Rauno Aaltonen, and now Mini is honoring the Finnish driving legend with a special edition bearing his name.
Available (in parts of Europe, anyway) on the classic three-door hatchback with either the Cooper or Cooper S engine spec, the Rauno Aaltonen edition comes painted red, while white features prominently on the roof, stripes up the hood, down the back and across the quarter-panels, side mirrors, hood intake and 17-inch wheels. Inside, Aaltonen’s signature graces the speedo and the leather-wrapped steering wheel is unique as well.
The best part is that buyers of the Cooper S Rauno Aaltonen get a day of instruction at the ice-driving school run by the honoree’s son Tino Aaltonen. Check out the special edition in the high-res image gallery.
